http://www.birchtreecenter.org/

Board of Directors

Program & Staff Leadership

Instructional Staff

 Glicka Kaplan, President

Timothy Coughlin, Esquire, Vice President

 Albert P. Stowe, CPA, PLLC, Treasurer

Tracey Tucker, MA, LCMHC, Secretary

 Barbara R. Frankel, MSW, PhD, Past President

Christine Guarino, PhD, Executive Director

Executive Director / Special Education Director

Christine Guarino, PhD, CCC-SLP, holds two Masters Degrees and a PhD in Speech Language Pathology from Columbia University. Dr. Guarino is a certified Speech-Language Pathologist and experienced clinician with over 35 years in the field of autism, administration, and research.  She has served as Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at various universities and has worked with children, youth and adults with autism in both educational and clinical settings.  She has published chapters in textbooks and articles in journals, and has presented at national and international conferences.

Associate Director / Director of Institutional Advancement

Elizabeth Hellard joined our team as administrative leader of operations and fundraising in the fall of 2009.  Before arriving at Birchtree, Ms. Hellard served as an operations manager for corporations in the accounting, insurance, and financial services sectors.  She has also provided executive support for the leadership of Fortune 300 companies and has led several fundraising campaigns in the community.

Program Director

Sandra Pierce-Jordan, PhD, BCBA, received a bachelor's degree from Colby College and the MEd and PhD degrees from Northeastern University. She is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst.  Dr. Pierce-Jordan joined The Birchtree Center as Senior Behavior Analyst in October 2007. She has worked with children and adults with autism and Asperger's for over 20 years in a variety of roles - consultant, school psychologist, and teacher. Dr. Pierce-Jordan has worked collaboratively with schools and families in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine, providing functional behavioral assessments, behavior support plan development, individualized educational plans, curriculum development, applied behavior analysis programming, diagnostic evaluations, program evaluations, staff and parent trainings, and workshops.

Senior Special Education Case Coordinator

Shelly Fagen, MIT, holds a Master of Initial Teaching, K-12, with an emphasis in Special Education, from Gonzaga University.  Ms. Fagen has experience managing special education caseloads in  public and private school settings.  Ms. Fagen’s professional experience includes case management for students with varying disabilities including autism. She has taught special needs students in special education, resource room, and inclusive general education settings.

Speech-Language Pathologist / Behavior Analyst

Cathy Booth, MS, CCC-SLP, BCBA, holds a BS in Early Childhood/Family Services and Communication Disorders; an MS in Communication Disorders from the University of New Hampshire; and an EdS in Behavior Education from Simmons College.  Ms. Booth is a certified speech language pathologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Ms. Booth is trained in the Lindamood Phoneme Secquencing (LiPS) and Seeing Stars programs. She has experience programming and implementing a variety of augmentative and alternative communication systems, including voice output and PECS. Ms. Booth has worked with children from birth through high school diagnosed with ASD in public school settings and private practice. She has provided workshops on the use of visual supports for Southeastern Regional Education Service Center, Inc. (SERESC).

Outreach Coordinator / Behavior Analyst

Catherine  Al Jenaibi, MS, BCBA, has a MS in Applied Behavior Analysis, from Northeastern University and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Katie has experience working with a wide variety of clients with developmental disabilities and mental illnesses.  She has worked with children ages 4-16 in intensive residential programs, 1:1 instruction, public school inclusion, home instruction and acute inpatient settings. She has experience developing curriculum and behavior management strategies for individuals across the autism spectrum as well as training families and support personnel.

Behavior Analyst

Erin Conlan, MSEd, BCBA, has been with The Birchtree Center for many years as a Clinical Instructor and Senior Clinical Instructor, and is now a Behavior Analyst.  Erin holds an MSEd degree from Simmons College and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

Behavior Analyst

Stephanie Mariano, MSEd, BCBA, joined our staff as a Senior Clinical Instructor in 2007.  Since that time, she has earned an MSEd degree from Simmons College and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

Behavior Analyst

Rebecca Walsh, MSEd, BCBA, has been with The Birchtree Center for many years as a Clinical Instructor and Senior Clinical Instructor, and is now a Behavior Analyst.  Becca holds an MSEd degree from Simmons College and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

Occupational Therapist

Mary Bamford, OTR/L, holds a BS in Occupational Therapy and is a certified Sensory Integration therapist.  She also holds certification in oral motor and sensory treatment, and has advanced training in Neuro-Developmental Therapy.  Ms. Bamford does faculty fieldwork for the University of New Hampshire's Occupational Therapy Department and provides workshops about autism and sensory integration and nonverbal learning disabilities for the N.H. Department of Education and Southeastern Regional Education Service Center, Inc. (SERESC). In 1997, she was the recipient of the first-ever Outstanding Service Provider Award awarded by the Learning & Developmental Disabilities Evaluation & Rehabilitation Services (LADDERS) program affiliated with the MassGeneral Hospital for Children. 

Director of Development & Community Relations

Jessica Files Squier, MA, has worked at nonprofits throughout the northeast including Strawbery Banke Museum, the Newport (R.I.) Historical Society, Mystic Seaport, Plimoth Plantation, and the Chester County (Pennsylvania) Historical Society.  Her duties have included public relations, grant writing, program planning, tour-guide training, public speaking and more.  Her graduate studies at the University of Delaware included coursework in not-for-profit management, fundraising and publicity.  She has an MA in history with certification in museum studies.